I'm not crazy...I'm just bored!!

No running...didn't want to mess up the wonders the massage did last night :) Plus, I'm trying to give those ITB's a rest. Doc says not to run at all...I'm only 1/2 listening!

Did yoga and 45 minutes of personal training beat down then 5 quick miles in 15 minutes on the bike to do a little cardio.

Working today, so I get to hang at the children's museum, then tomorrow the zoo, then Monday I'm thinking maybe Thanksgiving point. We'll have to see how motivation and money are doing then!

Trying to take it easy on the ITB's - 22 miles in one hour on the upright bike at a 3 resistance.

5K afterward on the Treadmill at 8:20 pace for the first two, then I increased the speed incrementally until I hit a 6mm for the last .10 - I was feeling so good that after I hit the 5K in 25 minutes, I went stayed at the 6mm for another 60 seconds...finishing at 3.25 miles. 

Run felt good and no ITB pain or even inklings of pain.

GOOD LUCK TO ALL YOU SGM RUNNERS!!! I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO READING ALL THE GREAT REPORTS OF PR'S - GO FRB RUNNERS!!!!

Lessons learned today:

1- don't eat a big meal (with dessert) at 11:00 at night when you have a long early run

2- 3.5 hours of sleep is not enough when you have a long early run

SLOW early miles with Shelly, but I am SO SO SO glad that she was willing to run with me; otherwise, I probably would've slept and been lazy and never gotten out to run. I had a fun "I'm 16 again" night last night with friends at a birthday dance, then went out to eat afterward. Because of this my performance wasn't quite up to snuff today - and it was hard, but NO ITB pain. I had heartburn, nasty (still full) tummy, lead legs, and wanted to stop and throw up more than once! Lessons learned, that's about all I can say...

AP: 9:17 splits: 9:17, 9:35, 9:27, 9:32, 9:12, 9:27, 9:04, 8:55, 9:08, 9:15

Poor Shelly had to put up with this slowness this morning...sorry Shelly. I also stopped just after 4 (turn around) and stretched the ITB - this may have helped push off soreness and pain. Hopefully I can find time for a nap today....

Step class - tried to keep up and going the entire time, VERY good x-training workout!

had about 10 minutes left before I had to get home to work, so I decided to run a fast mile on the TM (need to get used to this torture device again...it's getting cold). Finished 1 mile in 7:20 then pushed at 9mph for an additional 40 seconds to total 8 min of running. 2 cool down walking minutes, now I'm working all day...again....

BBK day, but most of them are taking the week off for recovery from SGM, so I met the 3 others at the soccer fields and did 2 5K's. I thought we'd go nice and slow...but when I glanced at the garmin at mile 2 and saw we were hitting 7:30's I figured we'd work on a little tempo :)

After those I drove home, but I was feeling good and at that point my AP was 8:14...so I decided it was early and I could push another 5K on our stake's route that goes just in front of my house. TONS more elevation gain on this course, but I still managed to knock the AP down to 8:06 (thanks to the decrease :) ). Splits were:  8:49, 7:49, 8:00, 8:14, 8:12, 8:22, 7:14, 8:07, 8:16, 7:08 for the last .25...all downhill to home.

showered to get warm...its TOO cold :( ear band, tights and running jacket this morning! Then went to the gym for the twice weekly beat down session...45 minutes resistance 90% legs today - hope I can walk tomorrow! Then I did 5 fast miles (15 min) on the recumbent bike to spin out some of the lactic acid.

Went to lunch with the BBK crowd, had a wonderful time discussing running and the great marathon they'd all just run! Everyone did so well and this group really deserves a pat on the back for all the hard work and inspiration! Seriously, I would probably still be running just 3 miles a day and NO hope for a marathon if it wasn't for these dedicated, humble, wonderful, amazing people. I truly owe SO SO SO much to them!!!

Tonight I'm going to a yoga class when hubby gets home...I need some 'unwind' time!

Slept in, then went to the gym for kick-boxing which was a GREAT workout today.

Then hit the TM for 3.4 miles (we'd run three .2 repeats outside in kick-boxing). I put the incline up and set it at 8:30 pace. I've decided (hold your breath and sit down to take this!) that the TM may be VERY beneficial to me this winter. It will hold my pace on days like today when I want to slow down from sheer laziness, but know I can do it. I kept the pace and am no worse for the wear now! I need someone to 'force' me to hit those MP miles when my legs are tired. Plus, I think I struggle with uphills (surprise, surprise) and putting the incline up, even to just a 1 or 2% grade will help my legs learn to deal with a little hill in the midst of it all as well. Okay, that may be the only time you will hear me sing the praises of the machine I HATE....we'll see :)

Stretched well and even dropped in for some 'assisted' stretching at a chiropractor's office...this is SO SO nice, especially on the ITB!! I got this special treatment, because my hubby got stuck in like 3 different accident's traffic and didn't get home in time for me to hit their yoga class last night :( I really needed it today!

Mixed up day for me. They're starting zumba at the gym and I really wanted to try the class, so I had to change it up. I knew the BBK's would only be doing 6 this morning due to recovery so I did my own 6 on the TM at the gym - that way I could do my personal training beat down session early in the morning AND get the run in AND go to yoga AND try zumba. whew! What a mouth full.

So...45 min of training, mostly arms and core

6 miles on Milley -my new best friend :) She was nice this morning. Kept the pace at 8:30 with the incline at 1%. I really want 8:30 to become my new 'easy' average pace for long runs, I think not letting myself fall into the 9's when I'm lazy will help with overall speed and endurance, so I'm using Milley to help with this!

Home now to get kiddos off, then I'll do yoga and try zumba. YEA! I've wanted to try it for a while, hope it's not so  crowded you can't move!

*update* Zumba was SO fun! It's like dancing for 45 minutes...the only down side is that you need to know how to move your hips FAST! I'm not quite that coordinated; however, it worked the crud out of my hips. The best x-training for my ITB's I think I've ever found! This will surely strengthen my hip stability.

Nice easy day at the gym, before trying a 'long' run tomorrow.

22 miles in an hour on the bike while reading some GREAT articles in Runner's World.

Then did a 5K at my new easy pace with Milley: 8:30mm at 1% incline...next week I'm going to try to increase to 1.5. I'd really like to get to the same point as the majority of the rest of you - the TM always is set on 2% incline when you run. I WILL get there!!

Had a great run on the JRP in Lehi with Becca this morning...nice and early. YUCK! I knew she'd do a good job of keeping the pace fast for me. I would like to say it was easy, but it wasn't - okay, well honestly it wasn't that bad. I did talk while running, but I could definitely tell I was pushing myself a bit (which was what I was aiming for - THANKS Becca!)

After Becca left at mile 11, my goal was simply to not let my AP fall. Same effort, stay strong! I was actually able to pull it down 2 sec/mile from that point which made me even more happy. I could do it by myself too, I can push myself and not just 'la-la-la' through a long run. I want to be able to keep up more tempo miles during long runs and this one was a perfect start.

AP: 8:15 splits: 8:20, 8:09, 8:10, 8:41, 8:43 (those last 2 are nasty uphills!), 8:12, 8:05, 8:09, 8:14, 8:17, 8:22, 8:01, 8:01, 8:01 (wow...the three by myself were all the same? strange..)

I feel good this run, and didn't have any complaints from the ITB's. I could feel some tightening at mile 10-11 after we stopped for a second to grab a drink, but that was it. Maybe they are getting better?

It's Stake 5K time again! So, for this morning's workout I decided to see how my legs would do at the race in a couple weeks - and get used to the course the 'normal' uphill way and not the way I like to run it from my house. Did one warm-up mile to the church (8:31), then stretched then started out. The first 2 miles are the worst of the uphill, but kept the splits descent (7:57, 8:19) then the third mile is mostly down (7:35) with my .08 run to the finish -it's just a little short- I finished in just over 24 minutes. Not too bad for the uphills you have to kick through.

Then I took a nice leisurely jog home...I was tired! (9:32) That killed my AP for the run and I finished with an 8:24 for the five miles. This was a fun 'tempo' run, and it's fun to have a close course to gauge speed on over time. I'd like to hit 23 minutes on race day...we'll see what my legs have to offer then.

Now I'm off to the gym to do step class and ab's class...I was thinking I'd run another 5K on Milley, but I may just do the ab's class instead. Still undecided, I'll update later.

*Went to do ab's, I didn't get a chance to eat much before step so I was a little light headed. Decided it would be better to do ab's than kill myself for another 3 when I have a full day with kids and volleyball tonight!*

Nice slow miles with the BBK's this morning...I LOVE that they know how to recovery properly! I definitely needed these slow miles this morning, I think my lead legs were from volleyball last night. Either way, it was nice to just get out! AP: 9:08, splits: 9:24, 9:02, 8:54, 9:12, 9:18, 8:57

Then went to the gym for resistance/weights. Mostly arms, so I'm afraid of Thursday. Then I did the recumbent bike for 25 minutes - 6.5 miles - at an even resistance.

Kick-boxing, then 4 miles on Milley...we ramped it up today, 1.5% incline at the steady 8:30 pace. It's feeling better, but mile 1-2 is still the hardest for me to get through. 

Felt kind of 'out of it' today...almost didn't run, but I talked myself back into it.

Another nice 'n easy with the BBK's - they're all still recovering and I'm just enjoying it!!! :) Although there was the promise of no hills, we still hit a couple good ones, but looking at my paces I did a good job of keeping them steady (it's easier at a 9m pace than a 7mm pace!)

AP: 8:48 splits: 9:31, 8:54, 8:51, 9:08, 8:54, 8:10, 8:11

Run felt good and I honestly wished I could've gone a little further this morning.

Now I'm off to the gym for 45 min of personal training, Zumba, then I'm going to take 30 min afterward to stretch since I have to miss yoga for training :(

Normal Friday  routine - 22 miles in one hour on the bike at consistent resistance (3.5%) then a short quick 5K - 8:20 pace at variable inclines (the new TM's have a '5K run' program, so I tried it out). Then I put it up to 7:30 pace for the last .25...I was just done.

Now to decide where to run 16 tomorrow.....

The 'outskirts' of Herriman tour this morning - I think I hit or passed the North, South, East and West borders of the city! Long run, complicated morning coupled with anxiety and frustration and bad eating the night before...needed the run, but kept threatening myself that I just wouldn't do it!

Got up anyway and headed out in the dark, having a headlamp at 6:00 is nice, but at 8:00 the sun was shinning in my eyes giving me a headache and I'm sure a few people got a good laugh at seeing me running with it still on my head - but what am I to do with it at that point?

Had to make a park pop stop at mile 7.5, and thought I was going to DIE on mile 14 and 15 when I was completely out of fuel and had to run my last 2 mile hill! I did stop at the gym at mile 9 to grab some water, but I've now learned I need fuel (gatorade, gu, jelly beans, etc) to keep myself from feeling like I'm going to fall over on a long run!

Pace wasn't bad, but I wasn't setting any land speed records for sure. I kept it good until about 10 when I could feel myself needing that fuel, but I just pushed through NOT willing to  quit, but again threatening myself that I was just going to cut it short or call Craig to come pick me up.

AP- 8:47 splits: 8:59, 9:02, 8:05, 8:37, 8:42, 8:26, 7:56 (NICE downhill!), 8:28, 8:54, 8:43, 8:38, 8:52, 8:53 (starting to slow...then comes the uphill), 9:43, 9:53 (still kept it under 10! :) ), 8:42 (last flat/down push). Finished at a 7:42 for the 50 ft I went over 16, so I guess I finally caught the spirit of the finish!

I'm glad it's over, but would like to try to do 20 next week...we'll see how that goes. It should be a better Friday night/Saturday morning mentally for me, so I should be able to get through it. PLUS, I will bring fuel to consume while running!

Step class, it was a fun and different class today...we did 'traveling' along a line of benches. Then Milley tortured me with 4 miles at 8:40 on a 1.5% incline. Can different treadmills make paces different? I did a different TM today and I SWEAR that the 7.1 mph speed was WAY faster than the TM I'm usually on. I didn't feel like my legs were tired or anything...it just felt a lot faster. It was very strange, so I  bumped the pace down a little (thus the 8:40mm).

Volleyball tonight, we're nearing the end of the season :( 

BBK run, it wasn't easy getting up for the early miles today. Miles were good, but harder than I would've liked. I think volleyball on Monday nights is killing my Tuesday runs. Rolling hills around the neighborhoods around JRP, tried to keep effort equal and stride strong up hill. 

AP: 8:47 splits: 9:23, 8:42, 9:16, 8:48, 9:00, 8:31, 8:25, 8:36, 8:27, 8:43 (last .5)

...still regretting not doing the last .5

Hit the gym for personal training. Did mostly arms, but enough legs to take what was left out of them. Then did the recumbent bike for 20 min at consistent resistance - 7 miles.

Off to Dr Toronto's office for a follow up on the ITB's - we'll see....

***update on Dr T - well, I've been benched! :( Okay, I'm making a mountain out of a mole hill. He gave me a cortizone shot in the L ITB - the R seemed to respond MUCH better to the predisone. Either way, NO running until Saturday. All cross-training allowed, but no running. So, I'll be beating myself in new and different ways for the next few days! :) He did say the 5K and 5 mile pumpkin run on Saturday are just fine. Then Monday, back at the grind! Halloween I have instructions for a 20 miler, then I think I'll run the mesquite tri-state marathon on 11/21 to see if it's really done it's job!***

kick-boxing class wasn't the best decision today. ITB at the injection site is pretty sore today, had a hard time sleeping last night with the pain - should've taken something. I guess I just never realized how much jumping/balancing/twisting/lunging we do in kick-boxing, didn't really get a good workout in, well cardio wise. Then I did ab's class wow...that was tough today. 

Already getting sad I have to put goose eggs up for mileage....can't WAIT until Saturday!!! :)

Tried to keep routine by waking up early and I went to the gym and did my personal training session in lieu of BBK's. Then I did 17 miles on the bike in 45 minutes at 3.5 resistance. 

Came home and got the kids off to school, then ahhh...yoga! Afterward I did Zumba again, it is SO fun!!! Good day despite no running...I'm just taking this as a taper for the race Saturday. I'd better be ready to go and run fast!! :)

What a fun morning! It was great to get out and run. I had decided to take the 5K easy and use it as a warm-up. I didn't realize how fast I was running until about mile 1.5. I was just enjoying it and was at the front chasing a 3-pair of missionaries that were running. One of the missionaries stopped to catch his breath and the other 2 circled around to not leave him (GOOD guys!) so then I got the 1st place for just a moment until a FAST runner from my stake (he ran for the U and has done ultras) caught up to me "go ahead and kick my trash!" I told him and he was off. I started feeling actually really good just before mile 2 so I just kept up with pace and since it was downhill it was a lot easier :) Finished 1st place female (2nd overall) with a respective 23:38. The course was pretty accurate at 3.08 my splits were:  7:43, 7:53, 7:27, 7:23 (last .08). I felt good and didn't feel exhausted or tired at all...how fun is that?!?

Then I raced over to the pumpkin run...it's only maybe a 1/2 mile away, but I drove to make sure I didn't have to run and stress out about time. I also needed to get home quickly so I could get my kids off to a dr's appt for a torture session (flu shots :) )

Saw all the fast ladies warming up...I was glad mine was done! Got my number, drove BACK to the stake center to get my nice running jacket I'd forgotten and left, then drove back and the race was just about ready to get going. I had enough time to visit a bit with the ladies and Eric and then walk on out to the start line (it was a lot further away than I had remembered). Cheris and Julie went to the front and I followed them despite feeling like I was now blocking everyone's view!

We were off, shortly into the race I decided I was going to give the downhill all I could, because I knew the last 1/2 with the uphill would be my nemesis! Just over a mile I decided to overtake Cheris (only 15 feet or so ahead of me and in 1st place) I stayed there until mile 3 when we started the uphill climb. I held onto second until mile 4 when Julie finally overtook me. I knew I was fading and it was getting difficult to hold onto those hills, but I was just enjoying EVERY 10 ft downhill 'rolling' hill I got. About mile 4.5 just as we went off the trail to the road another lady passed me, but I knew we just had the hill from hades left and then the 'flat' to the finish. I kept 3rd and Julie within about 20 feet the whole time, the 3rd place lady passed Julie and was maybe 5 feet in front of her after we turned the corner and was in the last home stretch. When the slight hills after the turn leveled out and I could see the finish I decided to take back a little, I didn't think I could catch Cheris up about 75 feet, but I was confident I could catch Julie and the 'lady'. I pushed, and I caught up to Julie and then she took off too - DANG! I didn't have enough left to push when she was pushing too! We caught up to the 'lady' and then I fell back a little. I think I finished just 5 seconds or so behind Julie and she was probably just 1 or less behind 'lady'.

Despite all of the craziness and pushing I was VERY proud of my finish time of 36:26. Fourth female and 1st in my AG. I wasn't going to complain - those ladies EARNED it!! In retrospect I honestly was kind of happy I took 4th, because the gave 1-3 overall the same medals, but 1-3 place. This way I got to sneak in a 1st place medal :) Isn't that ridiculous rationalization for my lack of effort to push the finish???

I had 2 great races and felt good with both of them. Afterward Cheris wanted to finish an extra mile cool-down so I tagged along and did a nice 10mm flat cool-down. Oh, how wonderful that pace felt after 8 miles of 7's!!

I did clock the trail run short at 4.76, but some were saying that the Garmin's don't like the curving of the trails and they can get really off. So, I'm going with the 'official 5' from the race. Plus, the race director runs with the BBK's and I trust that she got it right! AP for the 5 miles 7:17 (if it was truly 5, Garmin put it at 7:39) my splits for the 5 were: 6:35, 6:55, 7:49, 8:39, 8:28 - over 500 ft elevation gain on the way back up to the finish (most of it mile 4&5 obviously)!

Not quite sure I could call this morning's run a run...more like a nice jog :) I went out not wanting to push or be pushed...just nice and easy, and that's what I got. I really need to get Lucy out more, she's getting bored and starting to find things to do/dig in the backyard to entertain herself, so I want to try to get up and do 3-4 each morning with her. She's kind of forgotten how to run with me, pulling a little too much when she gets 'excited' about something, but when she started getting tired around mile 3 then it got much better :)

AP: 9:34 splits:  9:24, 9:16, 9:58, 9:35 - I did the stake 5K loop with an extra mile at the end.

Now I'm going to go to the gym for step class and I may do another nice and slow 4 on Milley to make it a nice easy eight...stay tuned.

**Finished the gym. Did step and another 4 easy on the TM 9:30 pace **

Woke up to get to early miles, but my 5 yr old had other plans...he filled his bed with puke as I was getting ready, so I got to clean up :) I BARELY made it to regular miles and had to run to catch the group. The weather was lovely (spoken very sarcastically!), I'd forgotten how nice it was to run with the sleet blowing into your face. 

Because I had to start out fast the first couple miles were faster than I would've liked, but then I took it back to a nice easy jog. AP: 8:59, splits:  8:29, 8:31, 9:16, 9:28, 8:52, 9:18, 8:55 (last .5)

Came home and got a nap, because kids are off track and I didn't have to get them up and showered! Hit the gym (kids stayed home, Dad's work has asked that if anyone in the family is sick to telecommute) and did a training session, a little of everything, and then did 5 miles/20 minutes on the bike. 

I think I'm going to have a nice lazy day at home :)

All of you who were praising me for running outside yesterday can now take it back. I got up, saw the snow and got scared and went back to bed :) I figured the TM would be fine today, poor Lucy would  just have to suffer! 

Went to the gym for kick-boxing (soon changing the name to boot camp class) and did mostly circuits, but kept the heart rate up! Then did the TM for 3 miles at an easy 9:30 pace - taking it easy to gear up for tomorrows BBK day. The cold and snow doesn't scare them, so tomorrow I'll have to be brave...or wear 10 layers of clothing!

After going to bed I decided to not do the early miles, but just do the main workout with the BBK's. However, I guess I don't think well in the morning. I got all confused about re-setting my alarm clock and woke in a panic thinking I was late for main miles! I had 2 minutes to get out of the house, I raced and grabbed and raced in the car. When I got there I saw 3 people running away from the cemetery...not towards it. I actually stopped and inquired where the rest of the group was. Confused they said "the cemetery is the MAIN miles" - DUH!! The whole drive there it didn't dawn on me that I was trying to get there by 5:15 and not 5:45! Not until that moment did I realize I was now in for the early miles and missed out on the extra 20 minutes of sleep! Seriously...where is my brain??

So, I did get going and when you have to jump right out of the car and head off to running you have no time to think about how cold it is! I didn't feel cold at all (with my 4 layers on) until we stopped at the cemetery to do the relay race. I wasn't quite racing this morning...as my splits will tell and poor Melanie (my partner) had to put up with my being last...BAD last! :( After that we did 3 hill climbs/loops then another big loop back to the parking lot. Nancy R had brought doughnuts for everyone - what a lovely halloween treat!! YUM!

Oh, just as a funny side note (for all of you who may not know what an amazon I am) I wore a clown wig and my halloween shirt to 'dress up' today. I ran 2 miles with Julie in the early miles and when we got back to the parking lot I was commenting about how I was hoping I wasn't the only one goofy enough to 'dress up' - Julie looked at me and laughed "I didn't even realize you were wearing a wig!" I just had to laugh. Seriously, is my head really that high up? :)

Came home and got a quick nap (I'm going to miss these when the kids go back on track!) then went to  the gym for yoga and zumba. I really like zumba, but really just wasn't feeling it today... oh well, maybe next week. I'm taking my Thursdays off of training and just doing Tuesdays until my money runs out.

AP: 9:21 splits: 9:24, 9:05, 9:26, 9:49, 8:31, 8:31, 9:56, 9:48, 9:36 - nice and easy...I'm loving it!

Nothing...had to work at 8:30 and I set my alarm to get up, but I didn't want to...so I didn't. I may go on a walk with all the kids, we'll see. I guess I'm rationalizing it by using it as a 'taper' day for tomorrow's race...not that I'm racing, but I'd like to take a good 8mm pace.